I have written a script that handles the mute toggle process. It is actually a workaround because the mute toggle key turns off the Master audio channel so implicitly the Headphone and Speaker channels as well. But when we unmute the Master channel, the Headphone and Speaker channels remain off.

The script basically turns on the Headphone and Speaker channels as well if the Master channel has been toggled on.

In some cases, there might be a Front instead of Speaker channel, or perhaps both. Just alter the script accordingly to cater for the differences.

The script can be found on my GitHub page.

On i3, added the following to the config file as well:

# Audio keybinding

bindsym XF86AudioRaiseVolume exec amixer -q set Master 2dB+ unmute
bindsym XF86AudioLowerVolume exec amixer -q set Master 2dB- unmute
bindsym XF86AudioMute exec mute_toggle.sh

The following simultaneously covers multiple displays and undetected resolution.

For the undetected resolution:

~$ cvt 1680 1050 60
# 1680x1050 59.95 Hz (CVT 1.76MA) hsync: 65.29 kHz; pclk: 146.25 MHz
Modeline "1680x1050_60.00"  146.25  1680 1784 1960 2240  1050 1053 \
1059 1089 -hsync +vsync
~$ xrandr --newmode "1680x1050_60.00"  146.25  1680 1784 1960 2240  \
1050 1053 1059 1089 -hsync +vsync

Use xrandr to find out the name of the displays. In my case, a laptop (eDP-1) with an external monitor (VGA-1) on its right.

~$ xrandr --addmode VGA-1 1680x1050_60.00

For multiple displays:

~$ xrandr --output VGA-1 --mode 1680x1050_60.00 --right-of eDP-1
~$ xrandr --output eDP-1 --mode 1366x768 --left-of VGA-1

I use i3 tiling windows manager so to set that up, add the following lines into ~/.xprofile:

xrandr --newmode "1680x1050_60.00"  146.25  1680 1784 1960 2240  \
1050 1053 1059 1089 -hsync +vsync
xrandr --addmode VGA-1 1680x1050_60.00
xrandr --output VGA-1 --mode 1680x1050_60.00 --right-of eDP-1
xrandr --output eDP-1 --mode 1366x768 --left-of VGA-1

For desktop environment, retain the .xprofile file and use its display manager as well to set it accordingly if not already displayed correctly. The undetected resolution should now be there due to the configuration file.

If having Windows is the only way to update the BIOS then rather than rebuilding the computer just to update it, having a live Windows is much more convenient. After much trial and error, here is the solution that works.

Ingredients:

1. Windows with Service Pack, else slipstream it with nLite
2. Service Pack for Windows Server 2003: SP2 | SP1
3. BartPE & Windows XPE
4. 4GB USB Flash Drive (FAT formatted)

Recipe:

On a Windows computer, for:

1. Have the flat files ready.
2. Extract the Service Pack either with 7zip or run it with -x option.
   Then look for setupldr.bin and ramdisk.sy_
   Run expand -r against ramdisk.sy_ to get ramdisk.sys
   Put both file into a folder called srsp1 within the BartPE’s folder.

   Note: I’ve tested with SP1 but SP2 should work as well.

3. Point Source to 1.
   Select Create ISO for Media output and point to the BartPE’s folder.
   Click Plugins, Add and choose the Windows XPE’s CAB file.
   Disable the Nu2shell, PENETCFG and A43 plugins and double check that all XPE are enabled.
   Click Close and Build.
4. Last thing to do is to run pe2usb against the USB drive to create the live Windows. pe2usb is located within BartPE’s folder.

Here’s my note for monitor calibration with Spyder2 colourimeter on Linux (in general rather than distribution specific) using ArgyllCMS. I don’t use it anymore since I’ve moved my processing to Lightroom.

Colourimeter Setup: spyd2en

Extract firmware pattern for the colourimeter:

~$ spyd2en -v path to setup.exe on the CD

spyd2en will try to extract the firmware to /var/lib/argyll/, so create the directory beforehand.

Adjusting and Calibrating Monitor; and Output .cal File Containing Device Calibration Information: dispcal

~$ dispcal -t6500 -gs -v -q l -y l -P 0.5,0.5,1.5 brand

t6500: set white point temperature to 6500 Kelvin

gs: set gamma to sRGB which is approximately 2.2

v: verbose

q l: set quality to low

y l: set monitor type to LCD

P: set test window position and scale

Last entry is the name for the output file

Example:

~$ dispcal -t6500 -gs -v -q l -y l -P 0.5,0.5,1.5 samsung

A menu with list of options will be presented but essentially only option 2 
i.e. White point (Color temperature, R,G,B, Gain/Contrast) is required for the process. Aim to get the DE as close to 0 as possible and Br between 100 and 150 by adjusting the monitor’s RGB setting. After that, choose option 7 i.e. Continue on to calibration.

Generate .ti1 File Containing Profiling Test Target Values: targen

Prerequisite: The .cal file generated above.

~$ targen -v -d3 brand

d3: set colourspace to Video RGB

Example:

~$ targen -v -d3 samsung

Measure Colour Characteristics and Output .ti3 File Containing Test Chart Patch Values: dispread

Prerequisite: The .cal and .t1 files generated above.

~$ dispread -v -y l -P 0.5,0.5,1.5 -k brand.cal brand

k: for specifying the .cal file

Example:

~$ dispread -v -y l -P 0.5,0.5,1.5 -k samsung.cal samsung

Create an ICC Profile File: colprof

Prerequisite: The .t3 file generated above.

~$ colprof -v -A "Brand" -M "Model" -D "ICC Profile Name" \
-C "Copyright" -qm -as brand

A: set manufacturer name

M: set model name

D: set ICC profile name

C : set copyright detail

qm: set quality to medium

as: set algorithm to shaper+matrix

Example:

~$ colprof -v -A "Samsung" -M "SyncMaster 2253BW" \

-D "Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW (2010-05-29)" -C "Daniel Ngu" \
-qm -as samsung

Import the resulting ICC profile file into Gnome Colour Management and assigned it to the monitor.